As a job seeker, one of the advantages you get from having a LinkedIn profile is that it provides potential employers and recruiters the opportunity to gain an understanding of your professional history. Wondering if employers bother to look into the contents of your LinkedIn profile? Yes, they definitely do!
Even if you do not add a LinkedIn URL to your resume, most recruiters will search you up on social media platforms, including LinkedIn, to do a background check and ascertain they are doing the right thing by choosing you over many other qualified candidates. Research proves that around 40 percent of potential employers may not invite you for an interview if you don't have a LinkedIn profile.
So, make sure you set up a LinkedIn profile and once you are done, go ahead and add your LinkedIn URL to your email signature, professional resume and any other place where your credentials are sure to get noticed. If you need help on how to include your LinkedIn URL on your resume, here is how to go about it.
Creating Your LinkedIn URL
Making a unique LinkedIn URL allows you to establish yourself as a distinct personality when you network and search for jobs. Usually, LinkedIn will provide you with a link that contains your name along with certain numerals and numbers. However, it's best to make your own version of the URL so that your connections and potential employers find it more relatable to your identity.
Here are a few options to create an easy-to-remember LinkedIn URL.
Use Your Name
A LinkedIn URL could simply be your name. Once you sign up for an account on LinkedIn, it will provide you with the URL which typically consists of your name, as well as an undetermined string of numerals and letters. A LinkedIn URL that is not customized can appear as if you don't care about your appearance professionally. A customized URL accomplishes what it says - it will help create your own personal image.
Label or use a Phrase
Another option for personalization is to include a term or label that can be recognized by search engines faster. For instance, if you wish to establish your identity in the field of Data Science you may coin your LinkedIn URL as "WillSmithDataAnalyst".
Customizing Your LinkedIn URL
Here is how you can customize your LinkedIn URL:
Login to your LinkedIn profile, click the "Me" symbol at the top, and select "View your profile".
Next, click on "Edit your public profile and URL" and it will take you to your profile's public settings page.
On the right side, you'll find your URL under "Edit your personal URL". Locate an "Edit" icon below it.
The address will look something like "www.linkedin.com/in/name". The text field will be displayed and you can customize the last portion. Select "Save".
It is easy to take out the random string of text and keep your name. Or, if you wish for people to be able to identify your work easily then you could include your name and job title in your URL.
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